Inking mechanism for printing machines



Nov. 5, 1957 c. A. HARLESS 2,811,919

INKING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 29, 1954 2 SheetsSheet 1 I Q '0)". 'f v 1 0 55 0 o g9 a 0 INVENTOR. g gfiar/es 4 flJ/ss Nov. 5, 1957 c. A. HARLESS 2,311,919

INKING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 29, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

g/zar/esfl f/ar/ess j Patented Nov. 5, 1957 INKJN G MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Charles A. Harless, Riverside, Conn., assignor to R. Hoe & (30., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 29, 1954, Serial No. 419,205

9 Claims. (Cl. 101-178) This invention relates to clutching arrangements, and more particularly to such arrangements for use in the ink motion drives of printing presses.

In such a drive, the ink motions may be mounted on carriages or slidable sub-frame structures so as to permit moving them toward and away from their plate or printing cylinders. The general prior practice has been to drive a gear on a printing cylinder (either impression or plate cylinder) which drives the cooperating cylinder through a meshing gear, and then to take off the drive for an ink motion from one of these gears. An arrangement of this type may be, apparently, very simple. For example, in some presses a number of plate cylinders are grouped around a common impression cylinder, the drive assuming the form of a large central impression cylinder gear with meshing plate cylinder drive gears grouped around it and each plate cylinder driving its own ink motion through gearing meshing with its drive gear. One point of connection and disconnection serves to connect an ink motion to its drive. However, in these arrangements the transmission between plate cylinder drive and ink motion drive of various vibrations and impacts noticeably impairs the operation. It has, therefore, been found better to drive the ink motions independently of their plate cylinder gears. In this latter arrangement a plurality of connections between ink motions and the unit drive must be taken into account each time an ink motion carriage is moved to and from operating position. While the carriage is moved back, the rotative position of any and all elements involved may be altered, with the result that various cooperating coupling elements will be found to be out of alignment (rotatively) when the carriage is moved back. It is also desirable to provide for absorption of a certain amount of torque fluctuations between an ink motion and the point where its drive is taken off the unit main drive. Shaft flexibility or flexible couplings provided for this purpose may also cause misalignment of cooperating clutch elements, when separated.

Objects of the present invention include providing ink motion drive couplings which align automatically, providing such couplings with simple and reliable silencing mechanisms, and providing such couplings of a simple and non-hazardous character, due to absence of any projecting clutch operating elements.

An ink motion drive embodying the invention in a preferred form will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and the features forming the invention will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic elevation of a printing machine embodying the invention in a preferred form;

Fig. 2 is an axial section through a clutch or coupling, the clutch members being disengaged;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 2 but showing the clutch engaged; and,

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 3, but showing, respectively, the clutch members preliminary to final engagement when brought together out of alignment, and the means for silencing the clutching mechanism.

In Fig. 1 there is shown (from the so-called operating side, and in schematic or symbolic form) a printing machine including an impression cylinder together with a number of plate cylinders 11 to (shown as 5) which cooperate to print upon a web W. Ink motion carriages including a carriage 16 and a carriage 17, respectively supporting the ink motions for the three right hand plate cylinders 11, 12 and 13 and the two left hand plate cylinders 14 and 15. Each ink motion includes various ink drums, form rollers and transfer rollers, as indicated in connection with the ink motions for plate cylinders 14 and 15, together with various drive gears for rotating and reciprocating certain cylinders or drums.

It will be understood that apart from a slight repositioning of parts and change in orientation, all five ink motions are identical, each having cylinders and rollers as indicated in connection with the ink motion for cylinder 14 or 15, gearing as indicated in connection with the ink motion for cylinder 11 and any suitable housing and enclosure structure.

A main ink motion drive shaft runs vertically up toward the center of the impression cylinder, being driven by subjacent bevel gearing 21 connected to the unit main drive, not shown. This main drive will, as usual, be located at the opposite end or side of the unit or the so-called drive end thereof. Horizontal drives are taken off vertical shaft 20 at intervals through bevel gearing 22 and a flexible coupling 23 is preferably inserted in the shaft 20. Each horizontal drive includes a shaft section 24 terminating in a spline gear coupling member 25 which cooperates with a coupling member 26 driving a shaft 27 which, through bevel gearing 28, connects to an ink motion drive. Carriage 16 is shown at moved back to separate its ink motions from their plate cylinders and uncouple their drives, while carriage 17 is shown in operating position.

Coming now to the details of the clutching arrangements, the structure of one of these arrangements is shown in detail and on an enlarged scale in Figs. 2 to 4. A bracket frame and housing 30 formed in or attached to carriage 16 encloses the bevel gearing 28 previously referred to, and supports the shaft 27 in anti-friction bearings 31 and 32. The inner race of bearing 32 is held axially between a shoulder 33 formed on shaft 27, and the hub 34 of one of the bevel gear pair 28. A screw-threaded nut 35 carried on a threaded section of the shaft 27 serves to hold the inner race of bearing 32 firmly against axial movement along the shaft 27 by forcing the bevel gear hub firmly against it. The outer race of bearing 32 is received and held in an annular groove formed in a cupshaped member 36 and clutch cover 37, which are secured to the housing 30 by means of bolts 38.

The coupling elements proper comprise the spur spline gear 25 carried by shaft section 24' and an axially slidable clutch element 26 associated with the shaft section 27. Element 26 is formed with internal spline teeth 40 at one end for engaging the member 25 and with similar internal teeth 41 at the other end engaging spur spline teeth on a member 42 fixed to the shaft 27. The element 26 may slide back and forth between the positions of Fig. 2 and Fig. 5, being guided in this movement by the meshing spline teeth 41, and by a Web section 43 having a bore receiving the shaft 27. Springs 44 seated in the members 26 and 42 constantly urge the clutch element 26 toward the position of Fig. 2, in which position it is stopped by a snap ring 45 held in a groove in the shaft 27.

If the ink motion carriage is moved toward the unit main frame, the clutch elements are brought from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3 or Fig. 4. If the spline teeth on elements 25 and 26 should happen to be in (rotative) alignment, the parts will immediately assume the position of Fig. 3. If, however, these elements are not lined up, element 26 will merely be pushed back inside the housing 37 against springs 44, as shown in Fig. 4. When the unit is put in motion, however, the turning of shaft 24 relative to shaft 27 will line up the clutch elements, which will then be forced into the engaging position of Fig. 3 by the springs 44.

An exceptionally simple silencing mechanism is provided and is shown in Fig. 5. As there indicated, the drive for any selected ink motion may be silenced by pushing back the coupling element 26 to the position shown and inserting a holding member or keeper 46. This holds the coupling member within the clutch cover 37 and out of engagement with the gear coupling member 25.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing machine having an impression cylinder, at least one plate cylinder cooperating therewith and an ink motion for each such plate cylinder, together with a main frame supporting the plate and impression cylinders and an ink motion supporting carriage movable toward and away from the said frame, and in combination, ink motion drive shafting separate from the plate cylinder drive and comprising a shaft section on the main frame, an aligned shaft section on the ink motion carriage, a selfaligning coupling member carried by each said shaft section, and means for engaging and disengaging the two said coupling members by movement of the ink motion carriage to and from the main frame.

2. The combination according to claim 1 comprising also means for holding a said coupling member from engagement to silence a said ink motion.

3. In a printing machine having an impression cylinder, a plurality of plate cylinders cooperating therewith and an ink motion for each such plate cylinder, together with a main frame supporting the plate and impression cylinders and an ink motion carriage supporting a plurality of the ink motions and movable toward and away from the said frame, and in combination, ink motion drive shafting separate from the plate cylinder drives, comprising a main ink motion drive shaft, and for each ink motion a shaft section on the main frame driven off the said shaft, an aligned shaft section on the ink motion carriage, a self-aligning coupling member carried by each said shaft section, and means for engaging and disengaging the said coupling members by movement of the ink motion carriage to and from the main frame.

4. The combination according to claim 4, comprising also means for selectively holding one or more of the coupling members from engagement to silence a corresponding ink motion or motions.

5. The combination according to claim 3 comprising also a flexible coupling for connecting the said main ink motion shaft to a printing machine drive.

6. In a printing machine an ink motion drive, in combination, a pair of aligned shaft sections, one such section being a driving shaft element separate from the element inked by the ink motion and carried by a relatively stationary frame member, and the other being a driven shaft element carried by, movable with and which, in turn, drives the ink motion, a pair of cooperating positive clutch members carried by the said shaft sections, one said clutch member comprising an axially slidable clutch element, spring means for urging the same along its shaft section toward engaging position, and a stop for limiting movement bringing the said shaft section together with the clutch elements out of alignment, the said clutch element may first be forced back along its shaft section to permit such relative movement and then he slid axially into engaging position upon relative rotation of the two said shaft sections bringing the said clutch element into alignment with its cooperating clutch member.

7. The combination according to claim 6, comprising also silencing means for holding the said clutch element still further back along its shaft and out of engagement with the cooperating clutch member.

8. The combination according to claim 7, in which the silencing means comprises a removable member extending across the said clutch element to hold it from clutching engagement and means formed on the associated shaft section for holding the removable member in predetermined axial position on the shaft section.

9. The combination according to claim 8, in which the said associated shaft section has a terminal enlargement and the removable member comprises a plate fitting behind the enlargement and held thereagainst by the spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 472,666 Cottrell Apr. 12, 1892 743,078 Henn Nov. 3, 1903 1,715,741 Clayboum June 4, 1929 

